Device for spinning staple fibers



Oct. 12, 1965 c. SCHLOSSER 3,210,923

DEVICE FOR SPINNING STAPLE FIBERS Filed July 24, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 17 46aiIa 73 I4 I .l 15 7a 21 7 g l4a j 10 3 47 76 C 7 a A m I 19 Q Oct. 12, 1965 c. SCHLOSSER 3,210,923

DEVICE FOR SPINNING STAPLE FIBERS Filed July 24, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 12, 1965 c. SCHLOSSER DEVICE FOR SPINNING STAPLE FIBERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 24. 1961 Fig. 7

Oct. 12, 1965 c. SCHLOSSER DEVICE FOR SPINNING STAPLE FIBERS Filed July 24, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.6

In 6 I6 36 19 l6 I2 19 I7 /2J L L 2 43 5Y7 l W 40 39 W Sud/on Dev/c8 United States Patent 3,210,923 DEVICE FOR SPINNING STAPLE FIBERS Clemens Schlosser, Bremen, Germany, assignor to Spinnbau Gesellschaft G.1n.b.H., Bremen-Farge, Germany Filed July 24, 1961, Ser. No. 126,165 Claims priority, application Germany, July 28, 1960, S 69,650 7 Claims. (Cl. 5758.95)

The present invention relates to a method of and device for spinning staple fibers. Devices for spinning fiber material are known according to which a sliver is continuously fed and carded or combed out by an opening roller, while fibers are withdrawn from the sliver and rearranged and withdrawn as twisted threads. With such a spinning device the combing out of the sliver is effected by means of a hollow roller which has an inner wall provided with needles. The hollow roller is provided with perforations or passages and has a needle field on the inside thereof and provided with blower blades in order to draw the sliver into the needle field. On this hollow roller, the fibers are collected and are withdrawn by a withdrawing device movable relative to said hollow roller. The twisting is effected between the withdrawing device and the withdrawing rollers.

This arrangement has the drawback of requiring a complicated differential drive for the withdrawing and combing device. In addition thereto, one and the same needle field is employed for combing out the sliver and for collecting the fibers for the thread formation. For the combing process, the employment of a wide needle field would be more favorable, whereas for forming the thread, the employment of a narrow needle field is more desirable. If a needle field is employed simultaneously for combing out and for retaining the fibers, it is necessary, for purposes of combing, to adapt the density of the needles of the needle field and also the thickness, length and inclination of the individual needles to the respective properties of the fiber material.

It is considered a particular drawback that the devices for such double function can be ascertained only on the basis of long and numerous tests.

With the heretofore known spinning devices, it is also disadvantageous, is connection with. the combing out process, that the end of the fed sliver, the so-called fiber tuft, has with each passage of the fiber being formed, to be lifted off from the needle field by means of a withdrawing device. This may greatly affect the uniformity of the combing operation and may easily cause the thread to break. This is due to the fact that when the spinning device is at a standstill, a starting thread has to be twisted on. Moreover, when a spinning machine is involved with a plurality of spinning devices, it is necessary, due to the common differential drive for the withdrawing device, to stop the entire machine.

Furthermore, a spinning device has become known according to which the opening up of the sliver is effected on the roughened inner wall of a rotating spinning bell which is mounted on a hollow shaft. According to another heretofore known arrangement, the opening up of the sliver is effected on the outer wvall of a separate opening up drum which is arranged coaxially with regard to the spinning bell. The said drum may have its outside provided with teeth, with a card band, or the like. The opened up fibers collect as a belt along the largest diameter of the spinning bell. Along said largest diameter, said spinning bell has bores through which the air is withdrawn so that the fibers will, by means of the airstream and the centrifugal force, press against the wall of the bell. This fiber belt will, through the hollow shaft of the spinning hell, he caught by a hook and pulled out 3,210,923 Patented Oct. 12, 1965 in form of a twisted thread. Due tothis continuous feed of the fiber, a continuous thread may be spun. This device lacks, however, sufiicient air, fiber and threadguiding means so that no useful thread will be obtained. The front of the rotating spinning bell is closed by a stationary lid. Between the spinning bell and said lid, a gap has to be provided and also between the spinning bell and the housing surrounding the same. Due to this gap, the suction effect upon the fibers through the relatively narrow holes in the spinning bell can only be minor, so that the fibers, after having been withdrawn from the sliver, will fiy around, which will interfere with the fiber arrangement. Furthermore, the fibers will not, with the desired assurance, be guided to the largest diameter of the spinning bell. They are not sufficiently combined so that many fibers will only partially be bound into the thread. In addition thereto, the thread sliding over the inner cylindrical surface interferes with the penetration of the twist from the withdrawing rollers for the fiber belt in the spinning bell. Therefore, this device is only suitable for spinning highly twisted yarns.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention -to provide a method of and device for spinning staple fibers, which will overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method of and device for spinning staple fibers, which will not require any differential transmission, as was necessary with the heretofore known devices of the type involved.

It is another object of this invention to provide a device for spinning staple fibers, which will make it possible to easily and quickly exchange the feeding rollers and opening up rollers thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

=FIGURE la is a section taken along line Ia-Ia of ning device according to the invention, with the sectional plane of the housing encasing the feeding roller and the opening up roller shown located behind the sectional plane of the housing for the spinning roller.

FIGURE 1a is a section taken along line IaIa of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 2 shows, in section, the transfer of fibers from the opening up roller to the spinning roller in the device of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the spinning roller, partly in section.

FIGURE 4 diagrammatically shows the arrangement of a false twisting device, known per se, in connection with a spinning device according to the present invention.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a vertical section through a nozzle designed as false twisting device for the discharge of the twisted thread.

FIGURE 6 shows a section of the nozzle of FIGURE 5 in perspective.

FIGURE 7 represents a spinning apparatus with a plurality of spinning stations.

FIGURE 8 is an arrangement similar to that of FIG- URE 1 but employing two opening up rollers and being equipped with the false twisting device of FIGURES 5 and 6 instead of a simple thread discharge nozzle.

As stated above, the present invention concerns a method of spinning stable fibers, according to which a continuously fed sliver is combed out by means of an opening roller, with the fibers removed from the sliver and passed onto the inner wall of a rotating spinning roller from which the fibers are withdrawn as twisted thread. The method according to the present invention is characterized in that the combed out fibers are removed from the needles of the opening up roller, arranged in a separate housing by means of an air stream and are conveyed through a connecting passage to the inner circumferential surface of an annular flange of the spinning roller. The said connecting passage leads into a fiber distributing groove, for instance, an annular groove, in an inner chamber which is surrounded by a pot-shaped spinning roller in a separate housing. The inner circumferential surface of the annular flange is provided with retaining needles which are inclined forwardly in the direction of rotation of the spinning roller, and retain the fibers relative to the air resistance acting upon the thread being withdrawn. The inner circumferential surface of said annular flange is furthermore provided with perforations, known per se, through which the air stream is conducted which effects the depositing of the fibers on the inner circumferential surface of the spinning roller.

The method according to the present invention is furthermore characterized in that the air stream passing through the housing surrounding the spinning roller is able to enter said housing only through the connecting passage from the opening up roller after it has passed through the latter and through the air passages in the cylindrical surface thereof. Moreover, a second air stream can enter the housing surrounding the spinning roller through a discharge nozzle for the twisted thread in one embodiment of the device, so that when starting the spinning device or when a break in the thread occurs, a thread held in front of the thread discharge opening will be drawn into the latter to the spinning roller where it twists itself to the fibers thereon.

The connecting passage between the inner chamber of the housing of the opening up roller and the inner chamber of the housing for the spinning roller leads into a fiber distributing groove within the spinning roller. This distributing groove may, for instance, be an annular groove formed by a fiber guiding disc which separates the fibers discharged from the connecting passage from the starting portion of the thread which is formed of the fiber deposit on the spinning roller.

This means that the individual fibers supplied to the spinning roller by the air flow will remain separated by the fiber guiding disc from the thread forming in the interior of the spinning roller before the deposit of the fibers in the needle field. In other words, the fibers supplied to the spinning roller by the air flow cannot be prematurely twisted with the thread being withdrawn.

The spinning roller may be followed by a rotatable false twisting device, known per se, which may be driven by the belt drive for the spinning roller. If desired, the spinning roller may be followed by a fixed nozzle bringing about an additional twisting of the thread and provided on the inner wall thereof with grooves or ribs.

Furthermore, the feeding roller and the opening up roller may be arranged in a common housing therefor.

With a device having a plurality of spinning stations, the feeding rollers and the opening up rollers of all spinning stations may be arranged on a common shaft of each set of rollers.

Advantageously, the feeding rollers and the opening up rollers are composed of detachable sections.

With a spinning device having a plurality of spinning stations, each spinning station may have associated therewith a thread regulator of any desired known type by means of which the feeding of the sliver may be interrupted.

If desired, a plurality of feeding rollers and a plurality of opening up rollers may be associated with a single spinning roller in order to produce a thread of a mixed or varying fiber material.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the spinning device shown therein comprises a pot-shaped spinning roller 1 having an annular flange 1a surrounded by a housing 2. The spinning roller 1 is rotatably journaled in housing 2 is rotated at high speed by means of a whorl 3. The arrow A (FIG. 1) illustrates the direction of rotation of said spinning roller 1. The inner wall of the annular flange 1a of the pot-shaped roller 1 has plurality of air passages 20 to allow the passage of air therethrough. On the inner wall of the annular flange 1a of the potshaped spinning roller 1 there are arranged needles 21 which are inclined, for instance, at an angle of 45 with regard to the inner surface of the annular flange 1a in the direction of rotation indicated in FIG. 3 by the arrow B. The annular flange 1a of the spinnig roller 1 surrounds an annular fiber distributing groove 6a which is formed by the wall of housing 2 and a fiber guiding disc 6. Between the surface of the disc 6 and the inner bottom surface of the spinning roller 1 there exists a narrow intermediate chamber through which the thread 18 is passed. The annular flange 1a of the spinning roller 1 rotates about the fiber distributing groove 6a and the circumferential surface of fiber guiding disc 6 at high speed. Disc 6 prevents the fibers 38 conveyed to the spinning roller through a connecting passage 17 from contacting the thread 18 being formed.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a member 7 having a central passage therein is provided in that wall of housing 2 which is in front of the spinning roller 1. This member forms a nozzle. The said nozzle 7 is arranged centrally with regard to the fiber distributing groove 6a and the fiber guiding disc 6. It is through this nozzle 7 that the twisted thread 18 is passed. Instead of such nozzle 7, a nozzle 32, designed as false twisting device as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, may be employed.

In front of the housing 2 for the spinning roller 1 are arranged the feeding roller 11 and the opening up roller 12 which rollers are enclosed by a housing 8. The feeding roller 11 and the opening up roller 12 are mounted on shafts 9, 10 and preferably are made of two sections so that these sections may along their joints 48a, 48 be quickly and simply taken apart when the feeding roller 11 or the opening up roller '12 have to be removed.

The feeding roller 11 which rotates in the direction of the arrow B has its outer circumferential surface provided with needles 15 inclined in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation thereof, and the opening up roller 12 rotating in the direction of the arrow C has its outer circumferential surface provided with needles 16 inclined in the direction of rotation thereof. The roller 12 rotates closely in front of the connecting passage 17 leading to the spinning roller 1. The feeding roller 11 is so arranged that the needles provided on the surface thereof rotate closely in front of the needles 16 of the opening up roller 12. The surfaces of the feeding roller 11 and the opening up roller 12 are surrounded by a guiding wall closely spaced from the tips of the needles 15, 16.

The sliver 14 to be spun is fed to the spinning device through an opening 13 of housing 8 surrounding the feeding roller 11 and the opening up roller 12 and then passes into the range of the needles 15 of the feeding roller 11. These needles 15 transport the sliver 14 to the needles 16 of the opening up roller 12. The opening up roller 12 rotates at a higher speed than the feeding roller 11, and the needles 16 comb out the fibers from the fiber tuft 14a. The fibers 38 are then conveyed through the connecting passage 17 to the spinning roller 1. This transport of the fibers 38 is effected by an air stream which passes through the interior of the opening up roller 12 and may be discharged through radial air passages 19 in roller 12 in the direction of the arrows D, D1 (FIG. 8). The fibers 38 move along a relatively straight path between the opening up roller 12 and the spinning roller 1. When the fibers have reached the spinning roller 1, they deposit on the inner wall of the annular flange 1a while surrounding the needles 21 and form the fiber deposit 38a. At point 22, the fiber deposit 38a merges with the twisted strand 18. The air resistance in housing 2 in front of the spinning roller 1, which rotates in the direction of the arrow E at high circumferential speed,

acts against thread 18 and has the tendency to move said thread together with the fiber deposit 38a connected thereto in the direction of the arrow F. This, however, is prevented by the needles 21. If the needles 21 were missing, the thread 18 together with the fiber deposit 38a connected thereto would slide in a non-controllable manner on the inner wall of the annular flange 1a in the direction of the arrow F so that sometimes more and sometimes less fibers would be twisted. This would result in a non-uniform yarn and eventually a break would occur in the thread.

FIG. 4 illustrates the arrangement of a rotatable false twist device, known per se, in connection with a spinning device. A drive shaft 23 drives the spinning roller 1 through the intervention of a disc 24 and a belt 25 and simultaneously drives a false twist device 26 through a deviating roller 27 in such a way that the spinning roller 1 and the false twist device 26 will rotate in opposite directions of rotation. By means of the deviating roller 27, belt 25 may also be tightened. Thread 18 passes over withdrawing rollers 28, 29 and a winding drum 30 to the yarn body or cop 31.

The false twist device illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8 comprises astationary nozzle-shaped body 32 which may be employed instead of the nozzle 7 of the spinning device shown in FIG. 1. The thread 18 coming from the inner wall of the annular flange 1a of the spinning roller 1 is deviated by approximately 90 at an annular edge 33 formed by nozzle 32. The edge 33 is provided with grooves or elevations 33a which cause the thread 18, which is under tension and rotating in the direction of the arrow G with respect to the imaginary central axis of nozzle 32, to roll due to the increased friction, on the edge 33 in the direction of the arrow H, whereby an additional twist will be imparted upon the start of the thread 18 between edge 33 and the starting point 22 of the twist.

Thread 18 leaves the false twist device 32 through a narrow opening 34. The narrower the discharge opening 34 of nozzle 32, the less air will be necessary when, during the spinning, a lead-in thread has to be sucked in. As illustrated in FIG. 8, a thread 39 may be placed in front of the opening 34 of nozzle 32. This thread 39 will then be sucked by an air stream onto the spinning roller 1 in order to be twisted to the fiber deposit 38a. The housing 2 surrounding spinning roller 1 has, as illustrated in FIG. 8, an air withdrawal opening 40 to which escapes the air stream in the direction of the arrow I, which air stream is drawn through the opening 34 of nozzle 32.

FIG. 8 illustrates a spinning device which, in addition to the opening up roller 12, has a further opening up roller 41. While the opening up roller 12 is connected through passage 17 with the fiber destributing groove 6a, the opening up roller 41 is connected through a separate connecting passage 42 with the distributing groove 6a formed by the fiber guiding disc 6. Such second opening up roller 41 and additional opening up rollers may be employed for producing yarn of mixed fibers. In such an instance, different fiber types corresponding to the desired mixing ratio are passed over each of the feeding rollers respectively associated with the opening up rollers.

A further advantage of such an arrangement resides in the possibility of being able, by alternate stoppage of the feeding rollers, to feed different quantities of fibers to the spinning roller 1 so that the thread 18 may have different and varying colors. The air stream passed through the opening up rollers 12, 41 enters housings 8 through openings 43, and enters housing 2 of spinning roller 1 through openings 19 of rollers 12, 41 and the connecting passages 17, 42. The air then passes through the openings 20 of the spinning roller 1 and is discharged from housing 2 through the opening 40 in the direction of the arrow D/Dl and J.

FIG. 7 represents a spinning device with a plurality of spinning stations according to FIG. 1. The spinning rollers arranged in common housing 2 adjacent to each other are driven by a shaft 23 by means of discs 24 through the intervention of belts 25. The feeding rollers 11 are connected to a common shaft 9, and the opening up rollers 12 are connected to a common shaft 10. The withdrawal of the threads 18 is effected by means of delivery cylinders mounted on a common shaft 36 and each having a pressure roller 37.

When a two-sided spinning machine is involved, the axes of rotation 47 of the spinning rollers in the housing 46 may be located opposite the axes of rotation of the spinning rollers in housing 2. In this instance, as shown on the right side of FIG. 7, four spinning rollers may be driven by means of a single endless belt 44 which is passed over disc 24 and a deviating roller 45, the latter being freely rotatably arranged on shaft 23.

The thread controlling means associated with the spinning stations may be composed of a tiltable feeler 49, a contact initiator 50, an electromagnet 51, a tiltable release lever 52, and a friction clutch 53 which detachably connects the feeding roller 11 pertaining thereto with the drive shaft 9. When thread 18 breaks, the feeding of the sliver is interrupted by stopping the respective feeding roller 11.

The operation of a spinning device according to the present invention is as follows:

It may be assumed that a Nm 5 yarn with 200 turns per meter is being spun from a sliver of 10 grams per meter of wool, rayon staple, or the like material. If the spinning roller makes 20,000 revolutions per minute, a delivery of meters per minute will be obtained. The term Nm is the yarn number in the metric system and is found by dividing the length in meters by the weight in grams of the yarn. The feeding speed of the sliver amounts to 2 meters per minute, and the circumferential speed of the opening up roller will amount to from 500 to 1500 meters per minute, depending on the type and properties of the material to be spun. When starting the spinning device, the suction producing device is turned on, which draws the air from the opening 40 of the housing 2. Thus, air will flow into the spinning device, and, more specifically, through the air passage 43 in housing 8 and through the openings 19 of the opening up roller 12 or 41, as the case may be, into the connecting passage 17 or 42, to the spinning roller 1 and from there through air passage 20 into housing 2 and air passage 40 thereof. Furthermore, air will pass through the thread discharge opening of nozzle 7 or opening 34 of nozzle 32. If now the driving shafts 9, 10, 23 are started, the feeding roller 11 will feed the sliver 14 to the opening up roller 12. The needles 16 of the rotating opening up roller 12 comb the fibers 38 or fiber tufts from the combined fiber tuft 14a. The fibers 38 now move in front of the connecting passage 17 and are passed into the latter by the air stream. The fibers 38 thus move to the spinning roller 1 where they are discharged near the inner wall of the annular flange 1a.

Inasmuch as the air stream transporting the fibers 38 is drawn off through the bores 20 in the annular flange 1a of the spinning roller 1, the fibers will rest against the inner wall of the annular flange 1a while surrounding the needles 21 and forming the fiber deposit 38a. If now a lead-in thread 39 is held in front of the opening 34 of the thread discharge nozzle 32 or 7, as the case may be, this thread 39 will be grasped by the air stream entering the opening 34 and will be drawn against the inner wall of the annular flange 1a of the spinning roller 1. Inasmuch as the outer end of the thread 39 is firmly held by the hand, the twist in thread 39 is increased to such an extent that it will not be able to absorb any further twist. Thereupon, the thread end which rests against the inner wall of the annular flange 1a of the spinning roller 1 will start to turn. When this occurs, the thread end twists itself onto the fiber deposit 38a surrounding same. If now a pull is exerted at the free end of thread 39, the fiber deposit 38a resting against the inner wall of the annular flange 1a, will be drawn off as a finished twisted thread 18 from opening 34. The thread 18 may then be wound up or may be subjected to a further processing step. The needles 21 of the spinning roller 1 have, during the withdrawing of the thread, the task to retain the fiber deposit 38a resting against the inner wall of annular flange 1a, with regard to the pull of the finished twisted thread 18 so that the thread obtains its twist under a certain tension. The needles 21 will thus exert no combing action.

The thread 18 leaves the spinning device and moves to nozzle 7 or nozzle 32, designed as false twist device without rotating parts. If desired, instead of the nozzle 32, a rotatable false twist device 26 may be employed, which increases the twist of the thread near its starting portion. The employment of a nozzle 32 designed as false twist device in which the thread 18 is subjected to a rolling movement by grooves or ribs 33a for increasing the spinning or twist of the starting portion of the thread 18 is particularly well suited for the manufacture of very softly twisted yarns.

The employment of a separate suction producer and the withdrawal of the air from housing 2, is not necessary under all circumstances. The spinning roller 1 itself will, when rotating at high speed, produce such a low pressure that frequently, the employment of a separate suction producer may be dispensed with.

When the spinning device according to the present invention is provided with a thread control (FIG. 7) which, at the occurrence of a break in the thread, will interrupt the delivery of the sliver 14, it has been found that when working at high delivery speed the spinning station will not be clogged up and no valuable fiber material will be lost.

The construction of a spinning device according to the invention with a plurality of spinning stations, is simple and can easily be observed inasmuch as no differential drives are required, as are necessary with heretofore known devices of the type involved. Inasmuch as all feeding rollers 11 and opening up rollers 12 are respectively arranged on shafts 9 and 10 toward the front, any feeding rollers 11 or opening up rollers 12 may, if damaged and if composed of sections, be easily and quickly exchanged. Each spinning roller 1 and the false twist device 26 pertaining thereto may be driven by means of an endless belt 25. When employing two-sided spinning machines, the rotatable axles 47 of two or four oppositely located spinning rollers 1 may be driven by means of a single endless belt 44, the endless belt 44 passing merely around the corresponding discs 3, 24, 45.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular constructions shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for spinning staple fibers: housing means, an opening-up roller rotatably arranged in said housing means and having its outer peripheral wall provided with needles, means for feeding a fiber strand to be processed into said housing means and onto said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller, a spinning roller rotatably mounted in said housing means and provided with a circular flange having perforations therethrough and having its inner peripheral wall portion provided with needles inclined in the direction of rotation of said spinning roller, fiber distributing means arranged within said housing means and confining a circular groove adjacent to and opening up toward said inner peripheral wall portion, conduit means establishing communication between said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller and said circular groove, air flow producing means communicating with the interior of said housing means for conveying fibers from said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller through said conduit means and said circular groove onto said inner peripheral wall portion, and

means for withdrawing in a continuous manner fibers from said inner peripheral wall portion and twisting the same.

2. In an apparatus for spinning staple fibers: first housing means, a hollow opening-up roller rotatably arranged in said first housing means and having its outer peripheral wall provided with perforations therethrough and equipped with needles on the outside thereof, means for feeding a fiber strand to be processed into said first housing means and onto said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller, second housing means connected to said first housing means, a spinning roller rotatably mounted in said second housing means and provided with a circular flange having perforations therethrough and also having its inner peripheral wall equipped with needles inclined in the direction of rotation of said spinning roller, fiber distributing means arranged within said second housing means and confining a circular groove adjacent to and opening up toward said inner peripheral wall, conduit means establishing communication between said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller and said circular groove permitting transfer of fibers from said opening-up roller to the spinning roller, said spinning roller having a surface located in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said spinning roller and confining with an oppositely located wall of said fiber distributing means a passage for a twisted thread to be withdrawn from fibers deposited on said inner wall, and nozzle means connected with said passage to permit withdrawal of said twisted thread through said nozzle means to the outside thereof.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, in which said fiber distributing means comprises a fiber guiding disc separating said circular groove from the twisted thread being withdrawn between said spinning roller and said fiber distributing means.

4. In an apparatus for spinning staple fibers: first housing means, a hollow opening-up roller rotatably arranged in said first housing means and having its outer peripheral wall provided with perforations therethrough and equipped with needles on the outside thereof, means for feeding a fiber strand to be processed into said first housing means and onto said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller, second housing means connected to said first housing means, a spinning roller rotatably mounted in said second housing means and provided with a circular flange having perforations therethrough and also having its inner peripheral wall equipped with needles inclined in the direction of rotation of said spinning roller, fiber distributing means arranged within said second hous: ing means and confining a circular groove adjacent to and opening up toward said inner peripheral wall, conduit means establishing communication between said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller and said circular groove permitting transfer of fibers from said opening-up roller to the spinning roller, said spinning roller having a surface located in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said spinning roller and confining with an oppositely located wall of said fiber distributing means a passage for a twisted thread to be withdrawn from fibers deposited on said inner wall, means for continuously withdrawing a twisted thread from said spinning roller and a false twist device arranged subsequent to said passage for imparting a false twist upon the thread being withdrawn from said spinning roller.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, which includes driving means common to said spinning roller and said false twist device.

6. In an apparatus for spinning staple fibers: first housing means, a hollow opening-up roller rotatably arranged in said first housing means and having its outer peripheral wall provided with perforations therethrough and equipped with needles on the outside thereof, means for feeding a fiber strand to be processed into said first housing means and onto said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller, second housing means connected to said first housing means, a spinning roller rotatably mounted in said second housing means and provided with a circular flange having perforations therethrough and also having its inner peripheral wall equipped with needles inclined in the direction of rotation of said spinning roller, fiber distributing means arranged within said second housing means and confining a circular groove adjacent to and opening up toward said inner peripheral wall, conduit means establishing communication between said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller and said circular groove permitting transfer of fibers from said opening-up roller to the spinning roller, said spinning roller having a surface located in a plane perpendicular to the aXis of rotation of said spinning roller and confining with an oppositely located wall of said fiber distributing means a passage for a twisted thread to be withdrawn from fibers deposited on said inner wall, means for continuously withdrawing a twisted thread from said spinning roller and nozzle means arranged subsequent to said passage and provided on the inside thereof with groove means for imparting an additional twist upon the thread being withdrawn through said passage and said nozzle means.

7. In an apparatus for spinning staple fibers: first housing means having a fiber strand inlet to permit feeding of a fiber strand into said first housing means, a feeding roller rotatably arranged in said first housing means for receiving and feeding a fiber strand passed through said inlet, a hollow opening-up roller rotatably arranged in said first housing means and having its outer peripheral wall provided with perforations therethrough and equipped 3 with needles on the outside thereof for receiving and opening up the fiber strand being fed by said feeding roller, said first housing means being provided with an air inlet, second housing means connected to said first housing means, a spinning roller rotatably mounted in said second housing means and provided with a circular flange having perforations therethrough and also having its inner peripheral wall equipped with needles inclined in the direction of rotation of said spinning roller, fiber distributing means arranged within said second housing means and confining a circular groove adjacent to and opening up toward said inner peripheral wall, conduit means establishing communication between said outer peripheral wall of said opening-up roller and said circular groove permitting transfer of fibers from said opening-up roller to the spinning roller, said spinning roller having a surface located in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said spinning roller and confining with an oppositely located wall of said fiber distributing means a passage for a twisted thread to be withdrawn from fibers deposited on said inner wall, and nozzle means connected with said passage to permit withdrawal of said twisted thread through said nozzle means to the outside thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 689,557 12/01 Metcalf 57-156 892,059 6/08 Jerrems 5758.95 2,557,433 6/51 Honig 57156 2,808,697 10/57 Williams 57-5895 FOREIGN PATENTS 590,001 1/60 Canada. 477,259 12/ 37 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner. 

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR SPINNING STAPLE FIBERS: HOUSING MEANS, AN OPENING-UP ROLLER ROTATABLY ARRANGED IN SAID HOUSING MEANS AND HAVING ITS OUTER PERIPHERAL WALL PROVIDED WITH NEEDLES, MEANS FOR FEEDING A FIBER STRAND TO BE PROCESSED INTO SAID HOUSING MEANS AND ONTO SAID OUTER PERIPHERAL WALL OF SAID OPENING-UP ROLLER, A SPINNING ROLLER ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING MEANS AND PROVIDED WITH A CIRCULAR FLANGE HAVING PERFORATIONS THERETHROUGH AND HAVING ITS INNER PERIPHERAL WALL PORTION PROVIDED WITH NEEDLES INCLINED IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID SPINNING ROLLER, FIBER DISTRIBUTING MEANS ARRANGED WITHIN SAID HOUSING MEANS AND CONFINING A CIRCULAR GROOVE ADJACENT TO AND OPENING UP TOWARD SAID INNER PERIPHERAL WALL PORTION, CONDUIT MEANS ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID OUTER PERIPHERAL WALL OF SAID OPENING-UP ROLLER AND SAID CIRCULAR GROOVE, AIR FLOW PRODUCING MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING MEANS FOR CONVEYING FIBERS FROM SAID OUTER PERIPHERAL WALL OF SAID OPENING-UP ROLLER THROUGH SAID CONDUIT MEANS AND SAID CIRCULAR GROOVE ONTO SAID INNER PERIPHERAL WALL PORTION, AND MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING IN A CONTINUOUS MANNER FIBERS FROM SAID INNER PERIPHERAL WALL PORTION AND TWISTING THE SAME. 